NBA Rumors: Rudy Gay Planning on Return to San Antonio

San Antonio Spurs’ forward Rudy Gay (22) during an NBA game. Photo by Rick Scuteri of the Associated Press (AP).

Unrestricted free agent and veteran small forward Rudy Gay is expected to re-sign with the San Antonio Spurs this offseason for a potential $10-million per season deal, according to a report by Jordan Brenner of The Athletic, Tuesday.

Gay, 32, averaged 13.7 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 2.6 assists in 69 regular season games for San Antonio last season while becoming a key contributor off the bench with 50-40-81 percentages in field goal, three-point, and free-throw shooting.

The former eighth overall pick signed with the Spurs on a two-year deal in July 2017 and became a valuable player in Gregg Popovich’s rotation.

Last playoffs, Gay averaged 11.7 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 1.7 assists for San Antonio in their first round defeat against the second seed Denver Nuggets.

The Spurs’ front office have already shown interest in keeping Gay in as early as March this year when the regular season ended as Popovich vocally admitted that they are hoping to re-sign the NBA veteran.

“We are hoping we can figure out a way to keep him here. He’s a great teammate, has a great personality, great sense of humor. He’s a very outgoing individual. He’s an easy teammate to be with, so he makes people feel comfortable,” Popovich said in an interview with the San Antonio Express-News.

“For young guys just starting out … it’s important to see the vets and be able to sit down and have a meal with them and laugh. (Gay) does that well,” he added.